Daisy Ridley, star of the new Star Wars film, has revealed JJ Abrams criticised her acting as ‘wooden’ on her first day of filming.

In an interview to be published in the January issue of Glamour, the actor said, “JJ… probably doesn’t remember telling me that my performance was wooden. This was the first day! And I honestly wanted to die.

“I thought I was gonna cry,” she continues. “I couldn’t breathe. And there was so many crew there, because obviously all the creatures [had stand-ins], and there were loads of extra crew making sure everyone was safe because it was so hot. It was awful.”

Despite the initial experience on the shoot, she told Glamour, “My experience has been incredible. I’ve felt supported and respected the whole way through. I’ve not been told not to do anything. My Instagram has not been… what it’s called when they keep tabs on it? Yeah, it’s not monitored.”

Ridley’s comments on the film come after co-star John Boyega recently admitted he does not know if The Force Awakens will match up to fans’ high expectations.

Boyega, who will appear in Star Wars: The Force Awakens as a Stormtrooper named Finn, spoke to Deadline in a new interview and admitted that he has held conversations with director JJ Abrams about the ways different groups of viewers will react to the film.

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“I think for now, based on what I saw, and based on my experiences on the set, I just don’t know,” Boyega said when asked if the film will be what fans are hoping it will be.

“This is a discussion I was having with JJ yesterday and I was just like ‘How are people going to react to this movie?’ But there’s going to be a reaction for sure,” he added. “I’m going to try to see it as many times as possible with different audiences just to gauge everyone’s opinions of it.”

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens in the UK on Thursday, December 17, a day earlier than in the US. The Motion Picture Association of America has given the film a PG-13 rating based on its “sci-fi action violence”, which makes it only the second Star Wars film not to be rated PG.

The story takes place 30 years after the events of Return Of The Jedi but specific plot details are being kept tightly under wraps. The film’s script was penned by director JJ Abrams, Toy Story 3 writer Michael Arndt and Star Wars franchise veteran Lawrence Kasdan.

Alongside Adam Driver and the returning trio of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, the film’s cast includes Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o and Andy Serkis. Abrams has recently revealed that Carrie Fisher’s Leia will not be referred to as “Princess” in the film, but as “General”.